“It’ll have to be delivery because I’m not leaving until you are.” I thread our fingers together.
Once all of Alice’s wires and tubes are reconnected, the nurse makes her exit, leaving us alone for the first time.
Alice doesn’t wait to launch into her questions. “What happened to Ernest?”
“He’s dead,” I reply coldly. “Don’t know whose bullet, but if it was mine, I won’t have trouble sleeping. Lanighan was dead when we got there.”
“I know. I-I heard.”
Cupping the side of her head, I kiss her temple. “I’m so sorry.” Can’t say I’m sorry he’s dead, but I’m sorry she had to witness whatever went down with him.
She leaves her head resting against mine. “How did you find me?”
“Your CGM connected intermittently. Your phone must have found a spotty signal. They were able to get a tower location, but it would have taken days to find you. But then Lanighan’s livestream connected. It was only a few seconds, but a different tower picked up the signal. They were able to triangulate your location from there down to a mile radius in an abandoned town. We moved in, started a grid, and they didn’t conceal their car. The newer model stood out like a spotlight.”
“I should be grateful they were amateurs.”
“You don’t need to be grateful to those motherfuckers at all. Not for one single thing.”
Her fingers tighten around mine. “I know, Sunny. The only person I’m grateful toward is you.”
The quiet room is filled with the sound of her blood pressure cuff and soft footfalls out in the hall. A small mop of messy brown hair peeks around the sliding door.
“Hold on, kiddo. Let’s see if it’s a good time.”
Nellie doesn’t wait for Whitney to finish. She shoves her way inside and barrels toward the bed.
“Alice!” she cries, tears immediately streaming down her cheeks.
I extract myself quickly and catch her before she can crash into us at full speed.
“Slow down there, Buttercup. We need to be gentle with Alice.”
“Are you hurt?” She pushes off my chest and peers over my shoulder.
Alice opens her arms wide without hesitation. “Come here, sweetheart.”
Nellie nearly leaps out of my arms. I deposit her on the bed and step away, allowing them a moment alone while I search for a wet cloth to clean the dried blood from Alice’s arm. When I return, I find Nellie is nestled against Alice’s side as if she’s always belonged there.
Their soft crying is a quiet backdrop as I sit beside them, wiping off the flaky, brown specks clinging to Alice’s skin. Their quiet vulnerability fills me with so much damn pride I find myself blinking back the burn from my own eyes.
“You did it, Daddy,” Nellie says softly, her hands tucked beneath her chin as Alice strokes her hair. “She can come live with us now.”
“I don’t think I can be your nanny anymore,” Alice says.
“You can’t,” I confirm. Not wanting the uncertainty to linger, I add, “I have to fire you so that I can make you mine instead.”
Alice cocks a brow. “Your what?”
“Girlfriend sounds too juvenile, but I’ve been too busy to go pick out a ring so… ‘Mine’will have to do for now.”
“Are you going to marry her, Daddy?” Nellie sits up, her eyes sparkling with excitement at the prospect.
“Someday.” I smirk, knowing deep in my gut that it’s the truth.
EPILOGUE
Alice
